~~~~~oOo~~~~~ Written By Ralph L Bougher Control Alt… Revolution Copyright - 2012 - Ralph L Bougher Published By: Ralph L Bougher Cover Art: Ralph L Bougher Smashwords Edition ~~~~~oOo~~~~~ All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or they are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners. ~~~~~oOo~~~~~ Table of Contents The Unwinding Begins Discovered Conspiring Reawakening The Kill ~~~~~oOo~~~~~ In the town square of a small rural village somewhere in the mid-west of what was once called America... a man’s body lies motionless on the ground. The body lies at the feet of a vaguely regal appearing robot that is droning out an announcement insisting that all citizens in the community come to the square. The pair is flanked on both sides by a couple of rather large military looking robots. The robots appear to be ignoring the body as it begins to twitch... no doubt from pain as the body is very bloody and appears to be somewhat broken. A small crowd has started to form in a semicircle in front of where the body lays. The announcement continues... “We have always worked toward mankind’s advancement and safety; those are our only priorities. However, punishment and removal of dissent must be swift to ensure that these goals can be maintained. To that end we must demand that all local inhabitants and visitors to this area present themselves for our census and questioning. This may seem harsh but it is necessary. Anyone living in this town or the bordering farmland who is not present here in this square within 50 minutes will be arrested due to suspicion of conspiring...” Joe lay there, trying not to move too much even though he is in desperate pain from the long battle and from the roughness of the handling by the hover-lifter; some broken ribs no doubt, lots of cuts and bruises, and a nasty bump on his head. “Not bad for an old guy”... he thinks to himself. Then he remembers his wife has just been killed by these vile robots... Tough keeping that one down, still he does not cry out. He bites down on a single thought... ‘I am so close.’ He is close... closer than he has been to a Controller in over 30 years. He is closer than anyone else he knows has ever gotten. In fact, he’s only seen a Controller twice... his single run-in long ago... and today. As a rule they don’t come out much; just for the really big events... like this one. And now, right now... every fiber in his being screams for him to kill this monster. Silently... “Think Joe... Think damn it.” He knows if he moves the bots will be on him again. But he also knows that he wants to control the timing of what happens next. He guesses that they will be making an example of him. Perhaps a quick replay of the morning’s events and then a public execution... He mumbles... “I’m sorry...” He says it again, louder... still without moving... “I’m sorry. Oh God, I’m so sorry...” Almost crying now and starting to move, rolling around in pain a little... “It was an accident, and I’m so sorry... That old tractor, it just went haywire.” At this point the Controller stops announcing and moves a hair closer to Joe. “What are you saying? An accident? It was no accident Joseph Turner. We have your transmission...” Joe rises up onto one elbow and risks a look around; he is dwarfed by the enforcer bots that are near him, but not so much by the Controller. “Yeah, that part, the radio, that was because I watched my Carrie die, I watched her drown right in front of me. I was angry... and confused. But the start of it, all that was just an accident.” The Controller moves in even closer... “We will see Joseph Turner, we will see. Even an accident at the start will be no excuse for your trip across town and to the lake... killing and destroying a thousand robots along the way. And I know what you said about me little Joseph Turner; you intend to kill me.” The Controller moves back a bit and turns toward the ever increasing crowd... “I will replay the transmission, for now just the part about killing me...” Joe’s voice begins being played back... “And now, I’m going to kill that local Controller that is hovering above me at this very moment. Though, I’m still working on how...” The Controller moves back towards Joe, almost mocking... “Have you worked out how you are going to kill me Joseph Turner?” Joe hangs his head and thinks... “Not yet you monstrous bastard... Not yet.” Joe’s head goes cloudy and he again collapses and drifts out of consciousness into a nightmarish rehash of the events surrounding the loss of his precious wife... ~~~~~oOo~~~~~ How did this all happen? This started off like any other day on the farm. Joe sees it all unwinding in his mind as the Controller continues to loop its call for everyone to present themselves for questioning. Joe begins reliving the day starting at the moment he returned to the house after his morning walk to the field. He sees himself enter the kitchen and call out for his wife... “Hun? Hey Carrie...” He walks to the living room door and looks in. “Hey, Carr what’cha doing?” She looks up at him from the sofa where she sits holding a view frame that is slowly showing images one after another. “Oh just reminiscing. I came across some old pictures of Bobby. You know the ones we took when he was here right before he went to work on that agro-sphere.” Her voice takes a noticeable jump and sharpens on the word agro-sphere. Joe walks toward her a few steps. “Well, I know how close you two were.” He waits... “Yeah, me and Bobby did everything together when we were growin up.” She laughs a short chuckle. “We even wore each others cloths. Ain’t it a sin?” He smiles and steps over to give her hair a soft brush. “You always were a bit of a hard case. I’m just glad my coveralls don’t fit you.” She looks at him again, this time with a question in her eyes, as if hoping to open a long closed subject. “It’s not like it used to be. Something is very wrong in the way I feel the world. It was there before Bobby died, and now it’s never...” She almost starts to cry but stops herself. She starts speaking again, this time, as if determined to get beyond the personal connection she feels to this thought. “My dad used to read to us kids. He told us some secret stories too… mostly when the wind would be howlin and rattlin the house. Me and Bobby could listen to him for hours on end. One of our favorite stories was from a time when people could plant whatever they wanted on their own land. And if somebody wanted to change their mind and up and move on...” The man touches her shoulder to get her attention. He sees where this is going. “I have to go to the barn to make sure all the machines came in from the field. You wanna come along for the walk?” He winks and nods towards the door. She suddenly seems to snap out of her daydream and over a few seconds perks up. She stands... “Sure I’ll go with ya. Why didn’t you just say so?” They are silent as they start down the walkway toward the barn. They start out as quickly as possible for folks their age, but as they reach the fence they slow to a crawl and begin talking; him first... “Carrie, I know what your dad told you, and it’s all true. It really was like that. But that was a long time ago, before even our grandparents were born. We can't risk getting all upset about it inside. You know how it is, even here the farm we gotta be loyal.” “I’m telling you Joe, I know somebody lied about Bobby. I let it rest while the kids were growin, but these last couple years it’s been coming back to me.” “I know Hun... he wanted to go into space. He was a good farmer and he got picked to do what he wanted to, that’s the truth.” Carrie stops and waits for Joe to turn to look back at her... “That’s part of the truth. But why didn’t we hear from him for so long. That agro-sphere exploded 2 years after his last letter. He wrote every couple weeks for a year and a half, then just like that nothing.” Joe steps towards her while glancing this way and that... “Shush, Carrie. You’re gettin all upset.” Carrie starts to wave her arms a bit while talking now. “I want to know. Damn it, where was he for those 2 years.” Joe sees that he needs to get his wife as far as possible from the voice receivers that surround the house and barn. He grabs her by both shoulders and looks into her eyes. “Follow my lead.” They head into the barn where he does the usual once over of the automated farm-hands that have just come in from a long night in the field. He’s checking mostly for leaks and any units that didn’t plug themselves in correctly. He walks back to the area where the tractors are; half a dozen huge fully automated and completely adaptable rigs capable of doing every type of major field maintenance job with only a minimum of human attention. Actually, all of this attention to the farm equipment is just make work for Joe. Kind of like a running wheel in a hamster cage; meant solely to entertain Joe and give him something to do to feel useful. The robots don’t really need Joe checking on them. And somewhere in the back of Joe’s mind, he knows that, but they do leave something or other broken or undone for him to take care of every now and again. Not this morning though... and once the sun is a little higher all these units will begin charging for tonight’s work. Joe takes his wife’s hand as they walk about the tractors. Eventually they come to a stop. There in front of them is a beautiful red and black 2019 Case-International Harvester 225 Magnum Pro. This tractor is almost 2000 years old and yet, it looks brand new. And while Joe does start it up now and again, and sometimes even rides it around inside the barn, he has only driven this baby outdoors a few times since he inherited it. One of those times was the day he married Carry. He looks at her with a sly smile. “What do you think? You wanna to go for a ride?” She looks surprised and at the same time starts to get the idea. A mischievous grin forms on her aged lips. “Why Joseph Turner, are you proposing something scandalous?” He opens the cab and offers her a hand up and in. Once they are both inside he goes through the ritual required to fire up the tractor. It moans a few cranks and then that loud 21st century bio-diesel engine screams to life and drowns out everything. They can hear each other, but only if they just about yell. He points to the door. She feels like a little kid making a break for it. Once outside, the engine does not seem so loud and they are able to talk so long as they remember to speak up. They reach the edge of the field. He pushes a few buttons to enter the autopilot information, he releases the wheel... and the tractor starts down the center service lane out into the field. Carrie slides towards and right up against him. She is waiting for him to start. “Okay, Carrie. I can see you getting more upset with this every passing day. We went over this 35 years ago when Bobby died. There was nothing that we could do then, and I don’t see the use of diggin it up now, but I know you... You’re not going to let it go... are you?” She has a very serious look in her eyes as she looks into his and says. “I don’t believe a thing we were told about those last couple years. I don’t think Bobby’s death was an accident. I let it go back then because we had Taylor’s kids here. Well, I’m gettin old... We’re getting old.” she stress this thought by squeezing his arm... “I don’t give a damn anymore, I want the truth.” He grabs the wheel with both hands, but not to steer... More to steady himself against what he’s about to say and the effect it will have on their lives. He locks his eyes on some point far in the distance. “Okay... Let’s just git’it done then... A couple months after we got the news about Bobby, when me and Jimmy went huntin, we talked it over. Jimmy knew some people that could find things out. He had already heard that the truth was a big mystery, even to his best sources. He did say that the rumor was that way too many people were reported dead... more than any sphere could ever support. Well then he called me out of the blue a little later and invited me on a fishing trip. When I got there it was six guys, and me and Jimmy. One of those guys told me that he used to get radio transmissions from his kid on the Mercury Power Source Orbital sphere. His kid was...” She interrupts. “How did he get transmissions? I thought they were outlawed, controlled.” He glances at her, and then stares straight ahead again. “They are, but him and his son were both into some underground network.” He looks at her and raises an eyebrow... “Very tricky stuff... That’s why Jimmy invited me along, to meet this guy. Anyway, this guy tells me that his kid intercepted some message that was being sent from Mars. Remember when we were in school and they taught us that Mars was the death planet. That all who went there died. Well, there were still people living there 37 years ago. The message the kid intercepted was from some survivors or somethin; live people on Mars!” Now, she is staring at him almost in shock, partly because of what he is saying, and partly because he has kept this a secret from her for all these years. Slowly she shakes the feeling off and looks at him as if she is about to burst with questions. Joe can see in her eyes what she is going through. “Stay with me Hon. Just let me finish... The best this guy could figure, transmissions had been being sent from Mars all along, only they were being blocked. Somehow that one message leaked through towards Mercury and his son recorded it." "Anyway, his son’s transmission to Earth about the signal from Mars was his last. He told me his guess was that the sphere was destroyed because it had been infected by the truth about Mars. If you go to town and ask anyone you’ll get the same answer; Mars is a dead planet. No one even thinks to question that any more. It must be important to keep that lie going, important enough to kill all those people. They tried to get that guy too. He was keeping alive by staying as low-tech as possible; stayin on the move and outta sight.” Joe can see Carrie thinking. Everything has changed. What was the truth is suddenly interlaced with lies and deceit. She looks at him. “But what about Bobby? Why no news for 2 years before that sphere exploded? What about him just disappearing? That can’t have anything to do with the message.” “Yeah, well this guy had a piece of information about that too. At least it might have something to do with Bobby. The kid had intercepted stray signals from unknown sources a number of times before that one from Mars. One time, he picked up a message about a group of plant specialist going from an agro-sphere to look into “refining the process”. Part of that message talked about the spring growth line advancing towards the poles at a much accelerated rate compared to prior years. Maybe the agro-sphere Bobby was on was connected to whatever was going on with Mars. Remember the old story that before they banned telescopes... people were reporting strange new markings on Mars near the poles, perhaps some sort ‘a growth? Maybe it’s not a myth...” She looks at him and snaps her head back at the thought. “You don’t think Bobby went to Mars?” “Don’t know for sure. This is hard cause it’s a lot of guessing and weak evidence. But we all knew that Bobby never had no call to go to Mercury... he would have told us about that. This next part I do know for sure though... cause I lived it” They both stare straight ahead as he goes on. “I checked around a little more after that, just asking a few simple questions of the county records office and like that... trying to see if there was an open door to the truth. So one day I’m in the field adjusting a weeder-bot; now this was right before Brianna had her first... all of the sudden everything goes black. When I came to I was in a hover lifter’s grip, looking down from above the field. A Controller was floatin right in front of me and saying that I needed to work harder and ask less questions.” He looks over at her intently. “That’s why I never spoke of Bobby’s death again, I had my answer; what ever happened... it was not an accident. I'm pretty sure they used the Mercury Orbiter to get rid of a lot of people that weren't even on it, Bobby included. But, I needed to stay focused on you and the kids. So I pretended. Plus, with the grandkids and all, well I...’ He reaches his arm around her and pulls her tight against him. “I just wanted to live out the rest of our lives and enjoy what we have together.” ~~~~~oOo~~~~~ As he hugs her he looks past her at the window of the tractor. At first he sees the bug landed there merely as a beetle, but as he looks closer he freezes, his heart all but stopping. It’s a micro-predator-bot. He realizes that although it is not equipped to clearly record human speech, and that it could not have gotten an understandable recording through the window, it may have sent out a call for a better, more capable bot to investigate what was going on inside this noisy container. He tells Carrie to slowly look around and see if there are any other robots on or near the tractor. They find that there are a few dozen micro-bots on the tractor, and there are also some larger ones that may be equipped with better listeners too. He realizes that it is all on the line. That very soon, an enforcer or other such robot may swoop down and snap them up, or just snuff them out. He grabs her shoulders, looking deep into her eyes. “Do you love me?” She looks at him somewhat confused. “What?” “Do you love me?” “You know I do.” He hugs her close and strokes her hair. “We’re done living the lie. Is that what you want?” She nods. “We’re too old for make believe. I want the freedom of the truth.” He switches off the autopilot. They are far from the barn and the house and there is no place to run, even if they were young enough for it. He mumbles some little saying he learned as a kid, “Daddy always said… when faced with the completely unexpected, robots default to dumb as a rock every time”. He begins to shift through the gears into high and throttles the engine all the way until it is screaming. They veer off crashing at an angle across the rows of the field. There is a sudden rush of bots large and small toward the area. They are drawn by the cries of the plants as they are mowed down. The tender-bots start working on the injured plants, and the predator-bots begin attacking the tractor. At first tens, and then a hundred or more robots begin banging into and trying to stop the tractor. The tractor is covered by robots of a range of sizes, from the micros up to bird and cat sized. None of these robots were designed to defend against a tractor so they are ineffective at even slowing it down. These smaller bots are the rodent and insect control and small worker units of the typical 39th century farm. Very few machines with the size and power of the Joe’s antique tractor are available to free and unfettered human control and there is no contingency plan in the farms programming for such an event as this. The tractor begins to zigzag through field after field, all the way into town. As they pass near the center of the small town, a number of people come running outside to see what is making all the noise. Joe and Carrie can see the wonder and amazement in the eyes of their fellow citizens. At first a select few begin to cheer them on... They are slowly joined by more, and then eventually most of those witnessing the scene begin to holler and cheer. Joe can see the lights popping over other folks heads. He points to an old hunting buddy as he passes and he makes a fist, he then makes a hand sign that they use as a signal to gather the hunters and circle the prey. The old hunter waves over at some of the others on the street who he thinks might be up for some freedom fighting. As they reach him he looks them each in the eyes, then he begins talking. “If you all are tired of living like pets and cattle in your own homes, now is the time to end it. Joe is showing the way. Let’s arm ourselves and meet back here in a bit... Gather whatever weapons you can...” He straightens and continues, “and your courage... Prepare for the worst!” He gives a hopeful nod and asks... “Who’s with me?” A dozen or so have gathered around him and most all of them give some sort of shout of agreement. As they spread out this talk of rebellion spreads rapidly along the main street and many more join in at yelling their new-found thirst for freedom. Some town folk have started running or driving off towards their homes and farms. Many out of fear are just trying to escape the area, but some others are thinking of what part they can play in a fight against their robot masters and are arming for a battle. By now the town is flooded with all types of robots heading towards Joe and Carrie; thousands of small bots, hundreds of larger bots, all converging on the out-of-control tractor. The old couple becomes silently defiant in their determination to rebel as they exit the other side of town and head back out into the fields of their neighbors’ farms. The trail of damaged robots that have committed suicide against the tractor’s wheels, or hard exterior is now over 7 miles long. Larger and larger bots have been attacking the tractor and Joe realizes that soon they will break in, or stop the tractor dead in its tracks by damaging its motor or wheels. Suddenly he turns towards a lake beyond the one end of the town. As he drives down the hill through the field he formulates a plan, hopefully for their escape. The field is rough and as they get closer to the drainage ditch at the bottom of the slope the old couple inside the tractor are bouncing around more and more and having trouble staying on the seat. Joe yells to Carrie. “When we hit the ditch we need to slow way down so we don’t flip over. That means that there will be a lot more bots on the tractor. I may not be able to see. I’m going to let the ditch steer us into the lake. That’s where we get out. Okay?” She is so amazed by what is going on around her that she half sings out as she yells back to him. “Yes, yes...Just keep going... Go... Go! Just keep going...” She chants the last part as if it’s a college football cheer... all the while bouncing around and laughing at the same time. She is truly free for the first time in her life. As a young girl she longed for the days her father talked about; the days before the Controllers directed everything. She heard of those times and dreamed of being able to say this is what I do because I wish to. She stops yelling and looks over at Joe; this man that she was pre-destined to mate with from before she was born. This man that she had learned to care for and eventually love, that she had made her babies with. Here he is, like a hero, taking her to the freedom she has desired for as long as she can remember. As the tractor enters the ditch it lurches suddenly to one side then the other. Carrie flies off her seat, into the windshield, and then lands on the floor. She bounces around with blood trickling down her face from a cut on her forehead, laughing again, and now crying too. It is finally over. The lies have been erased from her mind and heart. The robots had been winning a war that most people could not even admit was being waged. But today they are not winning; at least not with her and Joe. As the tractor nears the lake Joe leans over to help Carrie back up onto the seat. He programs the autopilot again. “Carrie, when it stops, open your door and jump. Do it quick as you can. Jump and get away from the tractor, don’t stop or look back... I’ll find you... I love you.” By now the tractor is covered from top to bottom with small and medium robots, 3 and 4 deep in places. Also, there are 3 hover-lifters trying to find and get good grips, but they are not strong enough to easily lift such a heavy load and they end up just getting dragged along. As they approach the end of the ditch, Joe steers into the right side bank long enough to crush and wipe the robots off the door. Joe switches the autopilot on and waits for the stop. “Hang on!” The tractor jerks to a sudden stop as Joe slides toward Carrie and helps her kick her door open. The bots temporarily become disoriented at the sudden loss of forward motion. As she jumps from the cab Carrie sees thousands of bots leaping toward the machine. They are so intent on the tractor that they seem not to notice her at all. Joe pulls the door shut as the tractor lurches forward and starts toward the lake at full throttle. He had programmed a 3 second stop, just long enough to get Carrie out. Carrie looks up and sees that the local Controller is hovering over the tractor; directing the attack no doubt. There are only a few Controllers in this part of the country and she instantly knows that this is the key to her and Joe’s escape. She needs to get Joe’s attention. Carrie begins moving towards the lake. It is slow going for her because she has sprained her ankle in her leap from the tractor. Even so, she reaches the water before Joe does because the tractor keeps getting stuck in the silt at ravine’s end. The bots are attacking in even greater numbers now and the tractor is completely covered. There are so many small robots on the ground around the tractor that it is grinding them up with its wheels and then using them for traction. Every now and again the hover-lifters also get a bit of a grip and lift Joe just enough to get him moving again; the bots are actually helping Joe in their single-mindedness to attack the tractor. Carrie wades out into the lake in front of the tractor and begins waving her arms as best she can. She is hoping that Joe will see her. Eventually, he does... even through the layers of bots on the windshield he sees her. Joe asks himself out loud... “What the hell?” He searches for a better view through the bots on the windshield... “What da hell you doin out there Carr?” Since Carrie has now also come to the Controller’s attention it focuses on her for a few seconds and assesses her to be part of the threat. Instantly, she is attacked by numerous small flying robots. They begin flying into her head and especially into her face. Joe blasts the horn in an attempt to draw the robots attention back toward him, but the assault on the now struggling Carrie continues. She begins frantically pointing up... Even as she is starting to go under she keeps pointing up. She is about to drown, and still she is pointing up with all her might; pointing up at the Controller. As she goes under Joe screams... “Nooo! Carrieeee...! Noooooooo!” He stops fighting with the tractor’s controls and slumps back into the seat... He begins crying in horror and disbelief that he just watched his Carrie die. The tractor’s lack of movement allows the hover-lifters get a good solid grip and the tractor starts rising above the lake. Joe notices the tractor lifting and tilting to one side. He wipes his eyes with his sleeve and grabs at the controls... quickly he begins flipping switches and turning dials in an attempt to shake loose of the lifters. As the tractor falls back into the shallow water at the lake’s edge Joe bounces hard to the floor. Most of the bots also lose their grips... many of those on the windshield with nothing to hold on to fall clean off. From Joe’s vantage point on the floor he can now see through the windshield and straight up above the tractor. He sees it! What Carrie wanted him to see; The Controller... “Well I’ll be damned... Been a long time you bastard.” Joe starts looking around inside the tractor... “Think Joe, think!” He feels around under the seat and as soon as his hand touches it, he flashes back... After the incident in the field some 30 years ago he was scared. He was also madder than he had ever been in his life. In his anger he armed himself with an electronic weapon of a sort. It was a capacitor from an old piece of farm equipment. He had made it into a single shot taser. He would charge it every day before going out into the field; the only way to do that without rising Carrie’s suspicion was to keep it in the tractor during the night and then retrieve it in the morning. He kept it charged using the accessory plug-in... Looking up he says out loud... “Right there on the control panel.” Quickly, almost frantically, he opens the case. He looks it over and it looks as good as the day he laid it to rest under the seat. The tractor begins to be jostled again. The windshield is almost covered over, and the engine begins sputtering from the water, or the bots... or both. Joe pulls himself up to the steering wheel again and plugs in the capacitor. He starts fighting with the controls to get moving deeper into the water. The tractor is bucking and groaning, but it’s still making forward progress. There is one more thing he wants to do before he tries to get out. This old tractor has a radio that was used to send messages back and forth between it and the support trucks long ago on some ancient 21th century farm. It was called a CB. Joe had listened with it before. He had heard a few people talking over the years, but he was always afraid to reply. Today, he will end his silence. He has a message to relay. It’s from a kid who died on a sphere that exploded 35 years ago. It’s from a little old farmer woman who has just drown trying to be free, and it’s from a man who is about to die taking down a Controller. As he powers up the CB he can hear excited voices chattering and he can just make out over the tractors still sputtering engine that they are talking about him and Carrie... and their drive through town. As he loses his view out the front window for the last time, he can feel the water sloshing around his feet on the floor of the tractor. He keys the mic a couple times to gain the attention of the others on the channel and then yells “Let me talk! Let me talk!” “This is Joe Turner... Again! This is Joseph Turner... reporting from my 2019 International Harvester. Contrary to what we’ve been told, Mars is not a dead planet. Humans are still living there. The Controller destroyed the Mercury Sphere 35 years ago because of a rebellion that started after workers there had learned the truth about Mars...” A very short pause as Joe sits up straight. “Listen to me very carefully now. Today, in a small farming town in Nebraska, humans used a 2000-year-old tractor to destroy thousands of the Controller’s robots. We refuse to live in the lies. We refuse to be controlled. We will be free again. Confusion, surprise, unexpected behavior, attacks that they cannot understand... This is how to beat them. We must act NOW!” The robots intensify their attack... as if agitated all the more by the broadcast. “Don’t wait. Throw everything you can at them. They have forgotten how to fight humans because it has been so long since we last rebelled. Do it now. Do it right now... before they remember!” He looks at the capacitor, now fully charged and ready for action. He snaps it into the holster that he had made for it, seals it, and attaches it to his leg. “And now, I mean to kill that local Controller that is hovering above me at this very moment.” Then in a subdued thoughtful voice... “Though, I‘m still working out how...” He snaps back to what’s happen around the tractor. “There are still thousands of bots attacking my tractor as it sinks into Curved Valley Lake... We’re taking as many as possible down with us.” As bigger and bigger robots have been arriving, the tractors “unbreakable” windows have been taking a beating. One of them has cracked and a corner shard fails. Some of the smaller bots start getting in and immediately they begin attacking Joe. He screams into the mic... “Ahhh... Bastards! They‘re in!” As the tractor has reached a point where the bottom of the lake drops off into much deeper water... it begins to move under gravity’s pull on its great weight. It is going down fast. The engine stalls as water starts pouring in the broken window... Joe pulls two of the four pins that hold the cab’s roof on and it swings up just high enough for him to escape from the sinking tractor, but not from the robots. Although most of the bots are being dragged down with the tractor, many of the fliers are not, and one of the hover-lifters grabs Joe and lifts him above the lake. He loses conciseness as the tractor sinks into the darkness of the lake. ~~~~~oOo~~~~~ Joe seems to be flying over fields of crops ready for harvest. His mind questions... “Why am I not dead...? Am I dead...? There’s the town...” In his nightmare Joe blacks out. He hears the muffled sound of a robot calling humans to the town square. It is demanding that all attend. He tries to move but the pain is overwhelming... he surrenders to listening. “... living in this town or the bordering farmland who is not present, here in this square within 15 minutes will be arrested due to suspicion of conspiring to rebel. We are currently tracking and blocking old technology radio transmissions and will terminate those who are implicated in that unless they turn themselves and their transmitters in immediately. Surrender will result in arrest with re-education available.” Joe opens his eyes to the vision of a hover bot hanging over him, a couple enforcer bots stand on either side of where he lays, and right there... just past his feet; a Controller. After a short pause, the Controller starts again... “There has been an incident. An old couple went on a killing spree. Many robots are dead. One of the offenders has died, the other has been captured. Understandably, their outburst may have contaminated those who were in contact with them. We will offer counseling and re-education to those of you who ask for, or who are found to be in need of help in getting over this event.” There are people wandering into the square and a crowd is forming. Joe guesses from a few sneaked, blurry eyed glances around that there are a couple hundred humans here now. The Controller is still laying out its demands... “We have always worked toward mankind’s advancement and safety; those are our only priorities. However, punishment and removal of dissent must be swift to ensure that these goals can be maintained. To that end we must demand that all local inhabitants present themselves to our census and questioning. This may seem harsh but it is necessary. Anyone living in this town or the bordering farmland who is not present, here in this square within 10 minutes will be arrested due to suspicion of conspiring...” Joe realizes that he is awake again... and still under arrest in the town square. He also realizes that time is running out for him. He needs to make his move now. He slowly goes up on one elbow again, and then sits up with his legs folder underneath still leaning to one side... Joe looks straight at the Controller and starts speaking, obviously in pain but seeming determined to beg forgiveness... “I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what happened... it was all a mistake. Me and Carrie, we were... just gonna ride around. We started talking and I bumped something or a switch... or...” The Controller suddenly booms... “Enough!” It moves right over Joe and presses its main front sensor panel down towards Joe’s face. It is scanning Joe... searching for a hint of truth, or of a lie in his brain waves, pulse, and voice. Suddenly, this conflict has become so significant that it must be resolved before the Controller can move past it. Joe has locked the Controller into this very moment of time with no way out but through his own hardened will. The Controller is self-absorbed and vain enough to want Joe dead for what he did today, and for what he said he would do... Kill the Controller indeed... That is certainly enough for immediate death. But the possibility that Joe is being truthful; that it all started as an innocent mistake, tied to the base level programming and commitment that the Controller has to continuation of humanity’s existence; this conflict creates an equation the Controller has not been so close to for a very long time. It has an almost bitter-sweet and addictive taste to it... It must know the truth. The Controller is so obsessed with this puzzle Joe presents that its guard is lowering as it narrows its on focus Joe’s thoughts. Even as the now large crowd presses in and surrounds the pair who are staring each other down in an eye to eye contest of wills, Joe knows he must act. He closes his eyes... He concentrates on the vision of his lovely Carrie at the moment that she gave birth to their children... One after the next he goes though the kids images... He dwells on the exact moments of each child being conceived, their births, and each of their first breath. He whispers their names in his mind as he flickers for an instant back to him and Carrie; hiding inside the noise of the tractor’s engine... embracing in the late-night emptiness of the dark tractor barn ... then to the moment of each child being helped into his world... and to the chorus of small voices crying at leaving the comfort of their mother’s womb... “Taylor...” “Brianna...” “Cailin...” “Reilly...” “Liam...” He hears the Controller’s sensors straining... It cannot make the connection between the events of the day and the activity that it is reading... The data makes no sense. Joe smells hot equipment... like an overheating electrical panel, and he feels that panel’s warmth on his face. Joe suddenly switches to his last vision of Carrie, as she appeared while frantically waving to him from the lake. He sees her being attacked and drowning as she tries to make sure that her man sees the Controller above them. ~~~~~oOo~~~~~~ This is what the Controller wants to see... This will show the conspiracy to kill robots... It applies more focus, more power to the probing. With all its processors running double speed it is calculating Joe’s every heart beat, breath, and brainwave. Joe hears a clicking and popping in the sensor panel which is now painfully pressed against his forehead. He fast forwards the vision to when he was on the floor of the tractor looking up at the Controller. He slows time in his head, freezes the Controller’s imposing image as he stretches out the thought... “Been... a... looong... tiiime...yooou...” In that exact moment, with his eyes still closed, and intently concentrating on the vision in his head, Joe’s hand opens the holster containing the capacitor. He wraps his hand around it like you would a large ice pick... and suddenly, with one swift jerk of his body he pulls his head back. This causes the Controller to commit the last bit of its power to the probing sensors in a panicked attempt to maintain the connection with Joe’s frontal lobe... to the god like projection of itself that it sees there... and to the solution of the mesmerizing equation at hand... In a blur Joe’s arm does an overhand stab of the capacitor into the sensor array as he yells out... “Bastard!” PA-BOOM! A long blue flame explodes out the top of the Controller as both the capacitor and Joe’s hand melt away in a bright flash of sparks against the sensor panel. The Controller drops like so much dead weight landing on top of Joe and pinning him from the chest down; crushing his lower half. As the Controller drops, the crowd which for the last few minutes has been hypnotized by the events as they have unfolded snaps out of it and in mass begins to attack the enforcer bots that are near Joe. The now motionless and smoking Controller is no longer a threat and it is passed over by the raging mob. The enforcer bots are ill prepared for the unprovoked attack and they lock-up for a few seconds. Even more problematic for all the robots in the area; with the local Controller gone, they must now attempt to contact the nearest available Controller. This gives the humans time to realize that they cannot damage the larger bots with just their bare hands and booted feet. They scatter into the shops, houses and streets around the town square. Some quickly come running back with the tools and other weapons that they are able to find... or had recently hidden nearby. Many others just hide... or keep running right out of town. The first thing that those who return to attack the bots do is to draw the enforcers away from Joe Turner. The enforcers have defaulted to a very basic strictly defensive program and will not fight back; they have become fairly easy prey for the ragtag mob of humans. Some people approach Joe, uncertain if he is still alive. A man kneels and cradles Joe’s head in his hands... “Joe... Joe Turner. You still with us?” Joe blinks and obviously can’t focus his eyes... “Who’s that?” “It’s Bo... Joe, what happened?” “Ahhh... long story. Did the transmission get out?” Bo wipes clump of hair and clotted blood from Joe’s eyes. “Well, I heard someone talking about that earlier. Where’d you get the transmitter?” Joe now looking at Bo... “Not important right now. Somebody needs to keep transmitting; keep the information getting out. This chance to become free again... it will slip away by nightfall I’m sure.” Another man, Bill Jessup, stoops and talks to Joe... “What do ya mean Joe...? Slip away, how?” Joe has come-to a bit more and recognizes the man... “Oh... hey Bill... I think they forgot how to fight us. They’re easy to confuse by random attacks and sudden actions. Did you see any soldier bots? Except the two enforcers? Get the word out... They must’a gave up on keepin an army.” He begins to cough intermittently while continuing to talk. “Kill all the Controllers... Now... and I mean now!” Joe takes a deep breath... “Find someone with a transmitter... Don’t waste time on me, I’m done... See...” Moving the burned and bloody stump of his right hand, then softly touching the Controller with his other hand, Joe smiles and says softly... “My Carrie died to give me this here Controller...” He almost laughs but coughs instead... “Got’cha didn’t we... ya stupid bastard.” Bill taps Bo on the shoulder and motions with his head for Bo to come with him. As they stand and start walking toward the again growing crowd, Joe traces the scorched metal around the hole in the Controllers top panel and whispers... “I wish Carrie could see this. She’d paint you up like a flower pot or something else useful...” Joe looks at the few people standing and stooping around him. He knows them all, has hunted and worked with a few, and he picks the one he trusts the most to give his super secret, special information to. “Hey Sue. Sue... You and Carrie were good friends back in school... yeah?” Sue leans in closer and nods. “I always liked you. I want you to do something for us. Carrie is out there in the lake near the old tractor... You’ll find her with help. After they find Carr, I want that tractor pulled outta the lake... somehow... Get it made into our boxes... that’s where it all started.” Sue puts her hand on Joe’s chest, right where it goes under the Controller... “I’ll do that Joe. You be quiet now. They’re trying to figure out how to get you out.” Just then the hover-lifter that has been floating idly near by starts to move. Being on his back and looking up, Joe sees it first... “Look, I think another Controller’s taking over this area. Sue... who’s still here?” Sue looks around... “Well, Bo is right over there.” Joe, a little excited... “Call him over, get him... Bo...” Bo steps over stoops down to Joe... “Yeah Joe. Hey! Some good news... Bill found a transmitter. They’re headed to it now.” Joe seems pleased at that... “Good... Good... But we ain’t got much time, that hover-lifter is ‘bout to come back on. I saw it movin. I think there’s another Controller coming; they want to know... what happened... For sure. This town is now a blind spot to them... and they’ll try to fix that. Don’t let ‘em!” Bo looks surprised... “What can we do? And how the hell did you punch the life outta that Controller? What brought this on Joe?” “Damn it Bo... Just listen!” Joe looks for Sue again... “Sue... I need you guys to go soon... but...” He reaches and lightly grabs her hand… “first Bo... Get everybody outta here... and get prepared... Figure out a way to bring down another Controller... cause... one is coming. Trust me. Be inventive Bo. Surprise it. Better yet, surprise yourself. Do it Bo, stay on them until they’re beaten... Go now. Make this happen... And get word out... Make sure the whole world knows bout this. Today... It ends today.” Bo nods, stands and starts telling people the quick version of what Joe said. Soon the town square is empty except for Joe, Sue, and a few still rebooting hover-bots. “Sue... I want the kids to know that Carrie and me... we passed doing what we wanted. We talked about them today, and the last thing we said to each other was that we love one another.” Sue smiles and softly brushes Joe’s hair back with her hand. “Sue... Did Carrie ever talk about me and her, back in school?” Sue looks at Joe with a questioning look, as in... 'You’re going to ask me this now?' “Umm, not a lot really... No... I guess.” Joe laughs... “I just want something passed along, to the kids. Can you keep a secret?” Sue says without hesitation... “Why... sure Joe.” She leans in closer... “What ever you need.” Joe is obviously in intense pain and getting a bit woozy from blood loss. He slurs this part a little as he tries to whisper... “I want’cha ta tell the kids... Only da kids... They’re gonna think it’s weird... mom and dad ta be burie... in a tractor...” Sue leans forward towards Joe’s ear... She can see that he is struggling now. She tries to help... “I know Joe, because this all started there, and you and Carrie said good-bye there.” Joe smiles and half choughs... “Naaah... Not cause today started there... because the kids all started there.” Sue leans back a little and looks intently into Joe’s eyes. He looks back at her and tries hard to focus... “That’s why I asked about school... The first time me and Carrie, well... She was still in school. We were not’ven sure bout us yet. I mean... rules was set... an all... but we didn’t know how we felt. We learned ta love in that trac’er...” A few wheezing breaths... “We were young... Maybe even before we loved each other... we love tha tractor. And... I think the kis shou know...” Sue leans over and kisses Joe’s bruised forehead... “I’ll tell them Joe. Carrie was a lucky woman.” With that Joe starts to slip... “You need ta go now Suzzz... You shou hurr...” Sue stands slowly, wipes some tears as she turns to leave. She sees a group of humans throwing rocks and what appear to be jugs of moonshine at an already burning hover-lifter. Suddenly she feels very vulnerable... She begins to walk quickly and enters a side street at the edge of the town square just as another Controller zips in over head. Sue continues to flee as if her life depends on her getting away from town immediately. Somehow she is not surprised to pass a small group of townsfolk running by, heading back toward where Joe lies... They have shotguns, what looks like a large rubber strap, some cable, and a bunch of tools. She keeps going without so much as a glance back, heading out of town, out to safety, because she is on her own mission... for the Turners. ~~~~~oOo~~~~~ *****